Samarkand, 16 September 2022 (TDI): Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev in Samarkand.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Heads of State Meeting. During the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked Azerbaijan for its support and solidarity with Pakistan.
He also lauded the country for providing considerable financial aid to flood victims. Along these lines, he emphasized that the catastrophic natural calamity caused by climate change necessitated immediate international action to confront this global menace.
He stated that Pakistan and Azerbaijan have excellent connections that are profoundly rooted in shared history, faith, and culture.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and congratulated Azerbaijan on its historic success in liberating its occupied territory.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also condoled the terrible martyrdom of 71 Azeri servicemen in an unjustified attack by Armenia.
He reiterated his support for Azerbaijan’s right to self-defense under international law and for the preservation of its territorial integrity.
While reviewing bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to expand bilateral collaboration in a variety of areas, including politics, economics, energy, defense, education, and people-to-people contacts.
The Prime Minister emphasized the significance of maximizing the relationship’s existing potential by increasing bilateral involvement in commerce, investment, agriculture, information technology, and tourism.
He also invited the President of Azerbaijan to visit Pakistan. Likewise, President Ilham Aliyev extended the invitation to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit Azerbaijan as soon as possible.
SCO Summit 2022
The SCO Summit in 2022 is being hosted in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Samarkand is known to be on the old Silk Road trade route that connects China to the Mediterranean.
The SCO summit in Uzbekistan would focus on assessing the organization’s operations over the last two decades and identifying areas where multilateral collaboration could be beneficial.
The talks would also include the geopolitical situation in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that this is the first in-person summit since the SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 2019. The 22nd Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State will be attended by leaders of SCO member states.
Moreover, the Observer states, the SCO Secretary General, the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the President of Turkmenistan as well as others will attend.
In addition, Iran is scheduled to be formally admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization during the conference.
It is pertinent to note that following the Samarkand Summit, India will assume the SCO presidency. India will preside over the SCO till September 2023. It will host the SCO summit the following year.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization: An Overview
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a political, economic, and security organization in Eurasia.
It is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic breadth and population, covering around 60% of Eurasia, 40% of the world population, and more than 30% of the global GDP.
The Shanghai Five, a mutual security pact founded in 1996 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, is the successor of the SCO.
The leaders of these countries plus Uzbekistan gathered in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, to announce a new organization with closer political and economic cooperation; the SCO Charter was signed on July 7, 2002, and entered into force on September 19, 2003.
It has since grown to eight members, with India and Pakistan joining on June 9, 2017. Several countries have agreed to participate as observers or discussion partners.
The SCO is managed by its top decision-making body, the Heads of State Council (HSC), which meets once a year.
